At
Wrightslaw, our goals are to help you gain the information and skills
you need navigate the perplexing world of special education.

Highlights:
Brent Staples, an advocate for children; help for children with
reading problems; new Reading Library; save $10 on Wrightslaw:
From Emotions to Advocacy; future of NCLB; saving children &
education reform; Wrightslaw programs in NH, AK, MD; help from Yellow
Pages for Kids with Disabilities.

Quote
of the Week:
"No other skill taught in school and learned by school children
is more important than reading. It is the gateway to all other knowledge.
Teaching students to read by the end of third grade is the single
most important task assigned to elementary schools." - American
Federation of Teachers
Wrightslaw is ranked #1 in education
law, special
education law, and special
education advocacy. (2003 Alexa
rankings)

Brent
Staples, a member of the New
York Times Editorial Board, is an advocate for children.
Mr. Staples has written extensively about reading, reading research,
learning disabilities, and special education.
In How
Shannon Carter Changed Special Education, Mr.
Staples wrote, "The people of Florence, S.C., know Shannon
Carter as the owner of Shannon's Clip 'N Snip, a barber shop
where the locals get haircuts and conversation . . . Shannon's
public school teachers are no doubt surprised to see her running
a business and working out a financial plan."

"During
the 1980's she finished ninth grade failing virtually every
subject, and was nearly illiterate. The schools told Emory and
Elaine Carter that their daughter was terminally lazy and would
'never see a day of college.' In truth, Shannon was suffering
from a common but undiagnosed learning disability that made
it difficult for her to comprehend the little that she could
read." Read
article

Most
children with disabilities have deficits in reading. They need
intensive research-based instruction that targets their reading
problems. But many children do not receive research-based reading
instruction and never learn to read proficiently.

If you are concerned about a child who has reading problems, read
Sue Heath's answers to these questions:

"If
I were asked to choose just one book to help me learn advocacy
skills, this is it!" - Support for Families of Children
with Disabilities Newsletter

"Expect this book to be tabbed and dog-eared - it
is an invaluable advocacy tool." - The Tourette Gazette

"Information is presented in a clear, concise format.
You will not want to skip a single page . . . gives families
a clear roadmap to effective advocacy. We award their work the
Exceptional Parent Symbol of Excellence." - Exceptional
Parent Magazine

"Very highly recommended reading for all parents of
children in need of special education services .. . Filled with
tips, tricks, and techniques and an immense wealth of resources,
from Internet sites and advocacy organizations to worksheets,
forms, and sample letters . . . "- Midwest
Book Review

I
attended your conference in Indianapolis. It was great!
I came back excited about what I learned. When I tried to
discuss research based instruction with the director of
our special ed. facility, he was not interested. He said
President Bush won't be reelected and No Child Left Behind
will be thrown out immediately.

Question:
Do you think No Child Left Behind will be thrown out? Or
is Congressional support strong enough that it will survive?

In
Rescuing
Education Reform, the New York Times offers support
for NCLB and characterizes attempts to gut the law as "morally
indefensible."

"No Child Left Behind is tackling one of the nation's
most critical problems: the substandard educational opportunities
offered to poor and minority children."

"Fifty years have sped by since the Supreme Court ruled
in Brown
v. Board of Education that the practice of confining
black children to segregated and often inferior schools
violated the Constitution and generally consigned African-Americans
to second-class citizenship. Nevertheless, all around the
country, poor children are still trapped in failing schools,
which poison their futures from the very start."

The Special Ed Advocate is a free online newsletter about
special education legal and advocacy issues, cases, and tactics
and strategies. Subscribers receive "alerts" about new
cases, events, and special offers on Wrightslaw books.